Ashley McManus News

A Wonderful World, A New Musical about the Life and Loves of Louis Armstrong recently played at the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans. See photos from opening night below!

Discover the nominees for the prestigious Carbonell Awards 2022-2023 season, including Zoetic Stage and Maltz Jupiter Theatre. Learn more about the upcoming event and the best of South Florida theater.

The 26-member cast of A Wonderful World, A New Musical about the Life and Loves of Louis Armstrong began rehearsals last week in New York City. Check out photos from rehearsal here!

Full casting has been announced for A Wonderful World, A New Musical about the Life and Loves of Louis Armstrong, which was previously announced to star James Monroe Iglehart.  The production also welcomes multiple Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award nominee Vanessa Williams to the lead producing team.  Find out more about the show, and the cast, here!

What did our critic think of BEAUTIFUL - THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL at North Shore Music Theatre, Beverly, MA?

See photos of BEAUTIFUL – THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL playing at North Shore Music Theatre through June 18, 2023.

Audiences can prepare for “some kind of wonderful” when Bill Hanney’s award-winning North Shore Music Theatre (NSMT) opens its 68th Anniversary Season with the Tony® & Grammy Award®-winning Broadway hit BEAUTIFUL - The Carole King Musical, about the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter, playing from Tuesday, June 6 thru Sunday, June 18, 2023.

From exhilarating choreography, broadway belts, hysterical physical comedy, vibrant costumes, radiant sets, ingenious videos, and lighting Sweet Charity proves Maltz Jupiter Theatre is a sweet opportunity for Broadway-bound productions.

Miami New Drama announced the return of the world premiere production  A Wonderful World, a new musical based on the life and songs of jazz legend and American icon Louis Armstrong. Originally scheduled for the spring of 2020, the production will now play at the Colony Theatre from December 4 - January 16, with opening night set for December 11.

Performing Arts Fort Worth proudly presents the first national tour of the hit Broadway production, A BRONX TALE, at Bass Performance Hall July 23-28. The show is part of Performing Arts Fort Worth's 2018-2019 Broadway at the Bass series. Tickets start at $44 and are on sale now!

Two iconic stars made a surprise appearance at last night's performance of A Bronx Tale in Boston. The show's creator, Chazz Palminteri, and co-director Robert DeNiro (who also directed, and starred in, the film) took the stage following curtain call to give a speech.

The North American tour of A BRONX TALE doo-wops its way into the Citizens Bank Opera House through April 14th as part of the 2018-2019 Lexus Broadway In Boston Season. It is at once a nostalgic stroll down memory lane with an original rock 'n' roll score, a gritty depiction of urban turf wars, and a well-told story about loyalty, love, and family. Based on Chazz Palminteri's 1989 one-man Off-Broadway play that inspired a 1993 film, the musical reunites the author with his directors, Jerry Zaks and Robert DeNiro, and they are joined by composer Alan Menken, lyricist Glenn Sater, and choreographer Sergio Trujillo. Like other musicals that have come before it (HAIRSPRAY, JERSEY BOYS, WEST SIDE STORY, to mention a few), A BRONX TALE feels familiar as it evokes a time, a place, and a genre that we recognize. It is a good, solid show with great music, performances, and design elements that provides a couple of hours of entertainment and escape.

The first words sung in A Bronx Tale, the tonally uneven and musically disappointing touring show that opened at D.C.'s National Theatre on Tuesday, are literally "this is a Bronx tale." The artistic subtleties don't get much better from there, as the musical (based on a movie based on a one-man show) proceeds to tackle issues from morality to racism with all the delicateness of a mobster smashing someone's head in with a baseball bat. Everything about this production is underwhelming from the performances to the design to the direction and choreography. Ultimately, A Bronx Tale is the perfect example of why we should stop adapting movies into musicals.

A BRONX TALE, the streetwise Broadway musical based on the one-man show and now classic film, will make its Washington, D.C. premiere at the National Theatre for one week only from March 26 through 31, 2019.

The North American Tour of A BRONX TALE, the new musical featuring a book by Academy Award nominee Chazz Palminteri, music by Oscar, Grammy, and Tony Award winner Alan Menken, and lyrics by Grammy Award winner and Oscar and Tony Award nominee Glenn Slater, directed by two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro and four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks, with choreography by Tony nominee Sergio Trujillo is now on tour.

BroadwayWorld has a first look at the North American Tour of A BRONX TALE, the new musical featuring a book by Academy Award nominee Chazz Palminteri, music by Oscar, Grammy, and Tony Award winner Alan Menken, and lyrics by Grammy Award winner and Oscar and Tony Award nominee Glenn Slater, directed by two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro and four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks, with choreography by Tony nominee Sergio Trujillo. 

Rehearsals began this week in New York for the upcoming North American Tour of A BRONX TALE. Get a look at the company in action below!

Full casting has been announced for the North American Tour of A BRONX TALE, the new musical featuring a book by Academy Award nominee Chazz Palminteri, music by Oscar, Grammy, and Tony Award winner Alan Menken, and lyrics by Grammy Award winner and Oscar and Tony Award nominee Glenn Slater, directed by two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro and four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks, with choreography by Tony nominee Sergio Trujillo.

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & MC COY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT present the fourth show of their 2015-2016 season, an all-new spectacular DREAMGIRLS, book and lyrics by Tom Eyen, music by Henry Krieger, musical direction by Dennis Castellano and directed & choreographed by Robert Longbottom.  DREAMGIRLS opened on Saturday, March 26 and will run through Sunday, April 17, 2016 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.

Lauren Marcus, recently seen in Two River Theater's world premiere production of Be More Chill, takes over the role of Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors at Sharon Playhouse. Anneliese van der Pol was unable to continue with the production due to a family emergency.  Check out a first look at the cast in action below!